Christmas and New Year have been so much fun, we are so lucky with the people we get on the tours, we have so many new friends this year all ready. We welcomed two new horses onto the yard this month, their names are Lucas and Rio, they belong to a friend of ours, but they are coming to stay with us for a while. Lucas is such a gentle soul, he is so sweet with eyes you can lose yourself in, Rio is a mover and shaker and Nancy and Julia the guides are loving riding him. Lucas even carried a wonderfully sparky 80 year old last week who was sampling all the excitement Costa Rica has to offer, white water rafting and zip lining, i hope i am like that when i get there. I am sure i will still be riding!

Next week David Lichman (Parelli 5 star instructor) arrives for the first proper Parelli in Paradise week, we are beyond excited. We have people coming from Norway, UK, Canada and the USA, it is going to be an epic week of learning, sharing and laughter. 

Archie is doing really well as we continue our Parelli journey together, he is such a clever boy and doing all sorts of cool things now, but most of all he is turning into a great partner for me. I love him so much, nearly as much as my husband ;)

Talking of Archie i finally started my book about my adventures with Archie, it has been great fun to write and has reminded me of how far we have come. i will let you know when i get it published!!!!! Thats going on my dream board for this year thats for sure.

If anyone is interested in parelli Linda Parelli is going on tour around the US this year, you can find details of the tour stops on www.parelli.com

The rain has been so late this year so the farm and jungle is still incredibly green, it is so beautiful. Also the monkeys have been crazy active, i think they are enjoying the slightly cooler weather we are having so far. I know i certainly am.

We also have a couple of new additions to our rides one of them being a wonderful progressive ride. You start with a friend of ours Elizabeth up at Barking Horse Farm, from there you ride for 7 days through the mountains, staying with local families along the way, and end at the coast. From here you ride with us along the coast line and into the rain forest. It is a wonderful, challenging and spectacular ride. 


This year is going to be a great year here at Discovery Horse Tours, we have a wonderful team of horses and staff all waiting to show you the wonders of Costa Rica. To find out more check out our website on www.horseridecostarica.com

Well the rains have gone and now the sun is shining. We have been busy with people coming for day tours and for extended stays for Parelli in Paradise. It has been so much fun showing people the fun it is to work with horses naturally. All the groups fell in love with the horses we assigned them and are all coming back next year!

I have had some amazing animal sightings this week. The best for me was a lone wild pig that come running across the hay field. The grass is so long he had to keep jumping up in the air to see where he was going. He was a good size, and very focused on getting as far away from us as possible, as fast as possible. Also Chris saw a couple of deer whilst he was out maintaining trails. The deer in the forest are very timid, so they took off as soon as they saw him, but he said they were beautiful. Monkeys of course, we see them several times a week, and they continue to entertain us with their stick throwing! They are very interested in us when we ride by, we have shared the same area for about 2 years now so they know we are no threat to them. We never feed the animals either, this is a very bad practise and not at all good for the animals. I would much rather observe them acting naturally then have them trying to steal food from my bag!

Thanks giving (even though we are British!) was a fun week out here, lots of families from the USA were here to celebrate and we loved showing them our beautiful reserve, many commented on being thankful for the nature they were seeing. I spent a great day riding through the mountains and on the beach with some great people, this was on the new "Best of Both Worlds ride" it is about 4 hours and wonderful. Very thankful!!

The horses are looking amazing (as always), we had a lot less rain this year which was good. Their hooves didn't get too soft, and Chris has been doing an amazing job at always keeping them trimmed and as nature intended!! You won't find any metal anywhere near our horses, in their mouths OR on their feet.

We have had lots of rescue dogs come through here in the last few weeks, and we are now up to 8 dogs, but luckily 2 got rehomed last week. There spots were soon taken though. This is always sad, but at least now they will have a chance of a forever home. Remember, these dogs can go to the USA!!!! 

If you are making your way down to Costa Rica this Christmas or New Year, be sure to look us up www.horseridecostarica.com! We are still voted the number 1 tour in Jaco on Trip Advisor!! Yay. Have a wonderful Christmas and an even better New Year. Keep it natural!

I LOVE rainy season. It's funny, when we moved here from the UK, we dreaded the rainy season, we hadn't left Cornwall for rain after all! But now we are here and have such wonderful sunshine most of the year, it is a nice change to have a drop in temperature. What i love most about rainy season is the green and the lushness of the farm!! It is always green here, but wow right now it is hard to describe how intense the greens are. It might be hard to get laundry done when it is raining so much, but i can lose a good half an hour just watching the forest.

We have been moving horses around to make sure they are all under cover (if they want to be, it is always better to give them a choice). Julia our guide has been busy over at the El Caballo Azul ranch where we have our horses for the beach rides, it gets very boggy over there, but after a bit of horse shuffling, everyone has access to a roof. Chris has his work cut out with their hooves, everything grows so fast at this time of the year, including the horses feet, also they can get a bit soft, so it is a lot of work to keep them looking good. Chris is also up to his ears in keeping trails open from over growing jungle, trees coming down and the odd stray cow!!! It is all sent to keep him on his toes!!!

My friend Leo and I got very lucky yesterday and had a wonderful rain free ride as we took Casper and Archie back from their end of summer grazing near my house to the main farm. The rivers were high, but it was fun and we actually stayed dry. We were lucky enough to see some amazing birds that were coming out of hiding during the hour or two of sunshine.

The monkeys have been missing in action in the last few weeks, i think they have found a nice dry spot somewhere deeper in the forest, i look forward to seeing them foraging in the next few weeks. I wonder how they like the rain? I would imagine not very much.

Plans are coming on for Parelli in Paradise next year and we hope to host Amy Bowers and her husband Nate. Amy is Pat Parelli's niece and has learned directly from him, so we look forward to learning from her first hand experience. We are still hoping to have Glenn Stewart here in December also. So although it is raining, we are still busy making plans for the next season. With that is mind we are happy to announce that we will be running walking tours starting in December. Many people who maybe don't like horses (strange people!! haha) or have allergies, but still want to experience the tour and the famous mud bath will be able to do so soon. We are excited to show more people our little piece of paradise.

At this time of year we have normally headed back to the UK, but this year we are staying put and experiencing the rainest month of the year first hand! Kayaking anyone..............

I have never seen the rain forest looking so green and vibrant, but with that comes rain! We have had a bunch of it this week, but luckily for us the mornings have been clear and sunny, so we have been cramming in our rides and play sessions before lunch. There is nothing like a green season siesta after lunch. 

We saw deer this week, which is quite a rare spot, boy they can move fast, they crossed over in front of the ride and up into the forest, so beautiful. Toucans are making appearances on mass too, we had the pleasure of watching 5 romp around the trees at the waterfall last week. They never fail to impress me!

Our two new horses are settling in well. Lucas and Rio, they have been eating their heads off, making friends, gaining weight and we are loving having them. Rio loves to lead the pack on the rides and is making a great guide horse, Lucas is more mellow and clients are going to love him on the trails.

Good news for us this week as we sold our car and got a new more reliable one! Cars get a pretty hard time out here in Costa Rica so we have got something with a nice straight forward engine and old fashioned suspension!

Coco is starting to excel in Parelli, she loves it and could for sure go to the higher levels. Whoever gets her for the David Lichman clinic in January is going to be very happy. She is now riding bridleless and bareback, putting her front feet on anything and everything and just wants to play with anything in her path. Wonderful. So glad i didn´t turn my back on her when i went to see her in the field. The day we looked at her with a view to buying her, she bit me and kicked me.....not a good start. We soon realised she had been taken from her Mum too young, she is now a happy camper!

We have reached over 80 reviews on Trip Advisor now! All are 5 star, we are very happy. Thanks to everyone that came, loved it and reviewed, it makes a big difference. Number 1 tour in Jaco.......woo hoo.

Ben the rescue dog is still making great progress, but he needs more time before going up for adoption. We are having to work on his training and boundries as he is very energetic and loves to mouth your hand, we need to get that sorted before he gets adopted. He is a sweet heart though.

We had a great ride with some experienced riders on the beach last week, you can see the photo below. One of the girls was on much deserved R and R from her Helicopter Army unit based in Honduras. She was very cool and flew Helicopters!! Girl Power.


Today i get to play Parelli games with the horses all morning, i have all sorts o fthings planned, but of course it depend on how the horse feels when we get going, it is all about the horses, some will play, some will just want to cruise around and munch the grass, others like Coco and Archie will be keen to learn new things......can´t wait! I really love my life!

What a great week, we really really love our life! Our new helper started this week and he feels like he has been with us forever, he is wonderful, the horses love him, the dogs love him and he just "gets it" when it comes to treating the animals with respect and gentle hands. Happy Happy Happy. His name is Douglas.

The tours have been amazing this week and our wildlife spotting has been wonderful, we had guests who saw a Jaguarandi (medium size wildcat) this is a rare spot so they were very happy, we had another group see Montazuma Orpendolas, which is a rare flock or birds that look a bit like toucans but without the big beak, also yesterday the group were very lucky with a family of white faced monkeys crossing the fence lines, they were at about head height and they could almost touch them.

Some of the gals came out this week for a ride to keep the horses fresh, we took them along a trail they don´t normally ride on, got off and let them have a 20 minute picnic on the grass! Happy horses.

I have been lucky enough to spend time with a level 4 Parelli student this week and she has been coaching me with my horse Archie. WOW, it is great, and we made leaps and bounds. I would love one day for the people that i got him, from who thought that whips, tying his legs together and terrifying him would make him learn, could see what he is doing now, he is so enthusiastic. I have posted a link to a video of him and i this week, it is a bit long, but fun all the same. I love that he will run to me without a leading rein on and skid to a stop with a look of "Great, whats next!" LOVE PARELLI!!

We are excited to be getting two new loan horses this week, they have passed their blood tests and i can´t wait to get them and get to know them better. They too will start with some Parelli training once they settle in and will make great additions to the Parelli in Paradise program. Moro, one of my longest standing tour horses may be going to up the wonderful Barking Horse Farm in Puriscal for a change of pace. He is so wonderful and we will miss him dreadfully, but i feel it is time for him to do something different, as he seems a little bored with life. Everyone needs a change sometimes! I know he will be very well looked after up there and if he is not happy he can always come back.

Ben the rescue dog continues to make great progress this week, he is turning SO ginger! He looks like he will have white bits on him too. Training him is hard as he is very energetic and doesn't respect your space very much, but you have to be so careful when you ask him not to do it, as his confidence is so fragile. We are getting there though and he will make a great dog for a forever family very soon. Casey the other rescue is now ready for a home and is a great guard dog, but also very friendly, so if anyone is looking for a great dog, be sure to call us 26437151 or 88387550.

Nothing beats galloping down the beach, i love it. I have just got back from a really fun ride with my friend, the horses loved it as much as us too, they love to blow out the cobwebs.

The new tour has opening "The best of both worlds" and everyone that has tried it loved it. We head up first into the mountains and go hunting for the groups of monkeys that make it their home, we even saw deer this week which was wonderful. After enjoying the forest we head down onto the beach and enjoy the vast emptiness that surrounds us on the Pacific coast. If you are not a rider, don´t worry we won´t be taking you to top speed, but if you can ride, you will love the feel of the wind in your hair as you let your horse stretch his legs. Such fun to be had!!

It has been playtime a bit this week and i have linked below to a video of me playing with Miss Coco, it was our first ride with out a saddle or a bridle, she is such a diva and loves to show off. We are hoping for great Parelli things from this girl.

Ben the rescue dog is doing wonderfully. We had several people sponser him now, so his future is looking bright. You can see him running around under me in the video. He will soon be looking for a home, and can go to the US so if anyone is keen for a really great dog who had a terrible start in life, let us know!!

We excited to say that Parelli in Paradise in January has now sold out (actually there may be one place left) we have a great group of people who are as excited as we are. I will of course post pictures when the time comes. If you are keen to come down for a riding vacation and Parelli in Paradise, drop us a line as we have another wonderful teacher lined up (to be confirmed)

We have been seeing lots of monkeys on the tour this week and so many babies, it is wonderful when they have new family members. Lots of exciting work is going on at the farm too, Jose who owns La Quina is building an environmental grass drier!! Sounds complicated doesn't it. There is a national shortage of hay here in Costa Rica even though we are surrounded by an excess of grass, it is hard to dry it when you get rain at night. So Jose, who studied at the Earth University, has come up with a way to cut, bring in, rack and turn grass to make hay under a massive structure he has built with the sustainable wood here on the farm. I will post photos when it is ready, it is very cool and only uses solar energy. Win win.

Life as always continues to be exciting and we are loving our life here in Costa Rica.

Below is the link to the video we did this week
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dko7lp0txC8

The photos below are of some of the wonderful wildlife around us. 

This has been an exciting week! We are about to open our new ride. So many people have been asking for a combination of beach and mountain so we are going to start doing this again, so you can get the best of both worlds. We used to do this ride many a few years ago and are going to open it again, it is lots of fun with stunning views and lots of monkeys! Julia and I were checking it out the other day and saw all sorts of great things. 

We had some very strange weather this week and i got a few good soakings on the tours, i can´t believe i felt cold ( Chris is pointing out it was still 79, i was just wet!!), but we are back to blue sky and sunshine again. Ahh the Pura Vida.

I have been focusing a lot on my personal horse time this week in between tours and LOVING IT! Archie and i are building a very strong relationship, it is amazing how much this has taught me about all forms of communication in my life and not just with horses. I have posted a link to a video of us playing without ropes yesterday. We still have a long way to go, but i am loving the learning. He actually started to play to, you can see him tossing his head and prancing around! Goof ball that he is!

Our David Lichman clinic for Parelli in Paradise is almost full, I am really looking forward to having some private lessons whilst he is here, i will post our progress. This man is a miracle worker with horses. If you are interested in joining us, be sure to get in contact. www.horseridecostarica.com

Chris was called out to help a horse with severe laminitis (big problem in the feet) yesterday and is hoping he will be able to help him over the coming weeks. He is in a bad way, but hopefully if the owner follows his guidelines he can have the horse back up and comfortable again. Fingers crossed. The type of hoof work that Chris does can be seen on www.hoofrehab.com. We are hoping that next year Chris will be able to start his training to become an Equine Podiatrist (hoof man!!)

We had a new rescue dog in three days ago, his name is Snoopy and he only has three legs. He is a part Aussie healer and so sweet, but does love to herd us. We are hoping for a really good home for him, i have posted a video link of the horses playing in the lagoon and you can see him there. 

Well i am off to play with the horses. Enjoy your day where ever you are.

Well change is a foot again here at Discovery Horse Tours. The couple that we took on to replace Alonzo and Gisele didn't work out, but as always, everything happens for a reason, and now we can welcome the wonderful Edward and Dora who are proving to be a breath of fresh air. They have wanted the position for so long, but i foolishly was put off by them being a bit young. It shows the law of attraction works wonders as their persistence and asking paid off and we are so happy and lucky to have them.

As always the tours have been wonderful, and due to popular request we are introducing a new ride soon incorporating the beach and the mountains, watch this space for details. Wednesdays are now being given over to the horses! It´s is going to be all about our babies (as if everyday isn´t!!) We are welcoming good riders to come and join us to take the horses on new trails, to gallop, jump and of course play lots of Parelli games. This helps to keep them mentally engaged and stops them turning into nose to tail machines (over my dead body!!) Making sure the horses are happy, willing and enjoying their work is the central focus of our life with horses and this is going to make that even easier.....and FUN! We are excited to dedicate a whole day to play!

On a sad note we lost the beautiful Cappi dog last week. He came to us through the McKee foundation, who we help and support whole heartedly as a foster home, suffering from kidney failure, we took him so he could live out his last few months surrounded by lots of love. Miss you so much Cap man. Thank you so much to the clients that came on the tour and very kindly sponsered Cappi to help ensure he got everything he needed. You know who you are! xxxx

Of course any space left by a rescue dog is quickly filled and we now have the crazy and energetic Cassie, who is probably as i type tearing around ripping up the farm! She is a blast. Another new dog comes tomorrow and he has only three legs. Chris wants to call him Tripod!! seriously, we can NOT call him that......any name ideas people? Any one looking to adopt, please get in touch!

Archie and I have been making great strides with his training lately, as i become more and more focused on learning to slow things down and be less task orientated. His confidence is growing so much each day as he realizes i am not going to ask him to do anything he is not happy about. No more pushing him over the proverbial cliff. Chris has been having fun doing Monty Roberts Join Up with Casper, it is so great to see Chris is now as obsessed with the whole horses as i am, not just their hooves!!!hahaha i knew i would get there in the end.

I did have some lovely photos of Archie learning to smile and a video of Chris joining up with Casper. BUT somehow i managed to delete them! I will try and get the footage again and post it up next week.

Hope everyone is doing great where ever you are in the world. We hope to see you here soon.

Oh and before i forget, David Lichman in January. Places being taken now, check out the website for more details.
www.horseridecostarica.com

Pura Vida
Andrea 

It has been great to have a little time to play with the horses this week. All our horses have a lot of different people riding them so there are always little things that need tweaking. 
Like humans all horses are different, and their training needs to be adapted to suit them, not the trainer! Parelli call it "horseanalities" and this is such a great phrase. Cookie cutter training will produce robots not willing partners. We like our horses to be our partners!
Take Archie (my personal horse) to get inside his head and find the best horse you have, you need to provide him with safety. He came from a nearby ranch that used "Old school methods" (unfortunately many so called "Horsemen" use these outdated and harsh ways), the experience all but destroyed him. Thank god i found Parelli Natural Horsemanship and was able to bring him out of the shell that he was hiding deep inside. Now we can train without using ropes and he has a willing look on his face instead of a petrified one. We always say, take off the ropes and you will get the truth, will the horse stay with you or leave? 
Horses are a prey species and humans are a predator species, to really get inside of horses mind you have to think like a horse. Take Moro for instance, he is a firm favorite with our guests, but when it comes to training you have to work out what is important to Moro, in a word.....FOOD! A little treat here and there can transform him from the sulking teenager at the back of the class to the swot at the front with his hand up every 10 seconds. He would jump through fire hoops for a little cookie!
Coco on the other hand is a different kettle of fish, she wants to play, walk her near the podium and she will stand on it, leave a barrel out and she will roll it around. She loves to solve puzzles, and the more the merrier. She was sold to us by a sniggering cowboy who figured he had one over on us, they had her labelled as mean. She wasnt mean, she was bored!! Going around in mindless circles just made her mad. Now Julia our guide can ride her with the reins laying on her neck, not in her hands, just using her body as she takes out the tours. She is so clever, we just have to keep her stimulated.
On the other end of the scale, you have our amazing baby sitter Whiskey, he takes care of everyone that rides him and they love him. When it comes to training with Whiskey, he needs time to mull things over, he is a little slower to work things out (just like people can be) but once he gets it with no pressure or bullying from us to get the job done, you can see the happy look on his face. He is a horse that could easily have turned mean in the wrong ranch. Pat Parelli has a great saying, "When you touch your horse, put your heart in your hand." This is so true and something we remind ourselves of everyday when working with our horses. This doesnt mean you smother them in only love, this would be as detrimental as beating them to do something. We use Love, Language (their language not ours) and Leadership in equal doses. The result? The most willing, happy and contented tour horses on the planet. We love each and everyone of them for being exactly who they are!

What a wonderful season we have been having. With the tourist season winding down for the next month, it is a great time to take a breath, and remind ourselves how lucky we are to be here in Costa Rica. 

Everything is so green right now, we have had small patches of rain but it has spruced everything up. Chris has been a very happy man this week as he works along side our new employee Paulo getting all the little jobs done that he doesn't have time for in the midst of the tourist season. Paulo and his wife Tina arrived to live full time this week with their beautiful little girl Alondra. It is great to have them and welcome them to the Discovery Team.

The horses are looking so fit and shiny and have come through the season incredible well, and so they should. We are dedicated to making their lives fun, engaging and as stress free as possible. They too are winding down now and today several enjoyed a good massage. They love to be rubbed, they get aches and pains just like we do. We use their own signals to guide us to where they like it. Deep sighs, blinking and shifting of their weight all show us where they are enjoying it and where they are not. It is lovely to see them so sleepy with it afterwards.

Hopefully tomorrow i have time to go riding with Julia our guide. She is going to show me a new trail that combines the beach and the wonderful mountains near our beach ride location, that way people get the best of both worlds. She has been seeing lots of monkeys up there too, can´t wait. 

Those of you who are interested in our Parelli in Paradise program, it is looking like David Lichman (5 star Parelli instructor) is coming down the first week in January. Places are limited, so if you are interested you should get in contact soon. Davids style of teaching and immense experience make the learning process so much fun.

The birds on the farm have been unreal this week. It must be to do with the changing of the season. The Orpenolas (their call is the most amazing i have ever heard on a bird) have been hanging around the main farm area. Also we have been seeing a pair of Mot Mots on the waterfall trail. The best though was a toucan who doesn't seem to notice we are there! He is not shy and has been coming right down on the ground whilst we sat near the waterfall!! Incredible. The tour that day were so excited.

My new blog for Parelli Central went out this week too, so if you are into Natural Horsemanship, you may want to check it out! http://central.parellinaturalhorsetraining.com/2011/04/walk-before-you-can-run/